How to Start a Medical Spa in New York

Looking to open your own Medical Spa practice in New York?

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How to Open a Medical Spa

The Medical Spa industry is on fire – today the industry in the United States is worth over $250 billion, and only projected to grow as more people relax and rejuvenate themselves. Since 2013, more than 16,000 spas have opened each year and employed upwards of 230,000 workers. This growth means a ton of opportunity for entrepreneurs with the right medical background, who want to provide nonsurgical aesthetic procedures for clients. If you’re interested in opening a spa but you’re not sure where to start, here’s a quick guide on the basics and where to begin.

Think of a name for your business. Your name will be your identity in the aesthetic world, and you want it to be recognizable. You’ll want to create a logo as well, and make sure both your name and logo are trademarked. Here at Lengea, we can help you with federal trademarks and filing your legal paperwork with New York State

Crafting Your Vision

Create your business plan, and put your vision into writing. State clearly what you want to accomplish: this will help you determine the type of services you will offer, the facilities you need, the staff you will recruit and the overall brand identity you have. Make your plan specific and include details on how to obtain financing and how your business will generate profit.

1

Navigating Licensing Requirements

Create your business plan, and put your vision into writing. State clearly what you want to accomplish: this will help you determine the type of services you will offer, the facilities you need, the staff you will recruit and the overall brand identity you have. Make your plan specific and include details on how to obtain financing and how your business will generate profit.

2

Hire Qualified Medical Professionals

Find the medical professionals you need for the services you offer, if you’re not a medical professional yourself. Interview candidates and determine their experience in the aesthetic world, then make your hires. Ensure each staff member understands the spa’s vision and their role in carrying it out.

3

Choose Suitable Office Space

Find an office that meets the needs of your spa, and provides the space for the services you’ll offer. In NYC, most of the time you’re struggling to find enough space for your spa without taking out a second mortgage. Find out more about spa office space needs on this page.

4

Create Service Protocols

Develop your treatment menu, and work with your staff and your attorney to develop protocols for each service on the treatment menu. The decisions you make on what services you offer will determine the products needed to purchase for you business, and what legal requirements your business will need to meet.

5

Acquire Essential Equipment and Products

Purchase the equipment and products necessary for your spa and the services you’ll provide. The needs of each spa vary greatly, and it all depends on what you plan on doing. Wondering what equipment a medical spa should buy? Take a peek here.

6

Launch and Promote Your Spa

Start networking, advertise your spa, and get ready for opening! Consider holding a grand opening event that coincides with a community event, where you can have a booth, pass out fliers, and offer promotions.

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Leverage Social Media Marketing

Get yourself out there on social media. Social media is an important marketing channel that helps you connect with your clients at a personal level. Using social media to engage with your customers has become a way of life for businesses, and most customers expect that as well. Continually post content that is unique and informative to new visitors, and this will attract new clients for you. For most medical spas in New York, the best social media sites are Instagram and Facebook.

8

Launch Online Booking System

Make sure your booking is live, and you’re officially open! Offering online booking for your Med Spa increases your reach, since customers will find it convenient and you’ll get more business. With a page on your website that lists the available time slots for every service, your customers can pick the one that suits them and book at any time. Then watch the customers come in!

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What’s the cost to open a medical spa in NY

When starting your medical spa, the cost is one of the most important factors in your decision to open. There are many things to consider when opening your practice, and opening your medical spa is costly. However, the returns from your investment can make the initial startup cost completely worth it.

Whether you’re franchising from an existing spa or starting from square one, there are basic costs every single opening office has to consider: construction and leasing costs. You’ll likely have improvements and enhancements you’ll want to make in the space you’re opening to account for the different services you want to provide in your medical spa. Although there may not be many regulations to comply with, you must also ensure that your staff and clients are comfortable and can access anything necessary for treatments or procedures.

New York is at the top of the “Expensive Real Estate” list, but the cost fluctuates greatly depending on where you’re located (Midtown Manhattan vs. Long Island) and how much space you want.

For a non-ground floor office space in Midtown NYC, you’re looking for a per-square-foot rent of $55-70. If you start with a 1000sf space, your yearly rent will be $55,000 to $70,000 or $4583 to $5833 a month, plus utilities and other expenses. The typical rent for a ground floor space would be 3 or 4 times this amount. A great alternative to paying such high rent fees is looking for a shared space or renting out a single room instead of an entire office. This is an excellent alternative if you are a solo practitioner or don’t plan to hire a large staff right as you start your medical spa.

Your next biggest expense will be staffing your spa. The clinic will need a medical director (which will most likely be you, if you’re reading this article). You’ll want somebody at the front desk and probably have a nurse or two. Your office will need someone to write down initial client information and answer the phone and handle appointment bookings while the medical staff interact with clients personally. You can usually expect to hire two or three full-time employees, and a couple of part-time employees as well. If you are renting a room in a shared space, you may have to handle all of the aspects yourself, or there may be a management company to oversee the administrative aspects, for a fee of course.

Another expense to consider is the equipment and supplies you’ll need to purchase. Depending on the services you want to offer in your spa, you can be looking at at $125,000 or more. This means everything to fill the spa, from treatment tables and chairs, to specialized machines like lasers or CoolSculpting, to Botox and other injectable products.

If you’re franchising your medical spa, there may be a cost included as well – but this cost is typically offset by the established brand recognition and support of the spa you are franchising from. As an example, here are one Medical Spa’s numbers for licensing.

Initial Licensing Fee: $70,000 (this is a fee to be paid to the franchisor or licensor) Investment Needed To Open Location: $50,000
Ongoing Fee: 7% of sales

While these numbers may sound a bit scary, the current anti-aging market is $250 billion, and projected to grow to over $350 billion by 2024. Botox has been the #1 non-surgical procedure since 2000 and is only increasing by the day. If the prices and cost of starting your medical spa are the only things holding you back, we suggest contacting us to learn more about why this can be beneficial.

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